North Korea to soon unveil ‘next-stage’ nuclear plans, says Kim
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
SEOUL – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will unveil plans to bolster his nuclear forces at an upcoming ruling party meeting, state media reported on Jan 28, after a missile launch he said would bring “excruciating mental agony” to his enemies.
The landmark congress of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party is expected in the coming weeks and will be its first in five years.
Mr Kim has ordered the “expansion” and modernisation of the country’s missile production ahead of that meeting.
Overseeing a ballistic missile test on Jan 27, Mr Kim said the party congress “will clarify the next-stage plans for further bolstering up the country’s nuclear war deterrent”, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
Mr Kim, accompanied by senior North Korean officials, as well as his young daughter, watched the test-firing of a “large-calibre” multiple rocket launcher that fired four missiles, KCNA said.
“The result and significance of this test will be a source of excruciating mental agony and serious threat to the forces that attempt to provoke a military confrontation with us,” Mr Kim said.
While acknowledging that development of the rocket launcher system had “not been plain sailing”, he said the test was “of great significance in improving the effectiveness of our strategic deterrent”.
Photos released by state media showed Mr Kim and his daughter, who analysts believe is called Ju Ae, watching the missile launch.
The rockets “hit a target” in waters 358.5km away, according to the North Korean leader.
The ballistic missiles were fired towards the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, with two missiles landing outside the country’s exclusive economic zone, Japanese state news agency Jiji Press reported, citing Defence Ministry sources.
Ms Lee Ho-ryung, principal researcher at the Korea Institute for Defence Analyses, told AFP that the upcoming congress would likely see Mr Kim announce “that the goal is now to maximise nuclear operational prowess”.
“Kim Jong Un has used past party congresses to stress the completion of the country’s nuclear capability, and this time he is expected to declare that such capability has now reached its peak,” she said.
Second test in January
The test was Pyongyang’s second in January, following a salvo of missiles fired
It came a day after a high-level visit to Seoul by Mr Elbridge Colby, a top Pentagon official who hailed South Korea as a “model ally”.
Ties between the US and South Korea, longstanding treaty allies, were forged in the bloodshed of the Korean War from 1950 to 1953.
Washington still stations 28,500 troops in South Korea as a deterrent against the nuclear-armed North Korea.
Dr Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said: “Pyongyang may have been signalling to Washington that it possesses response capabilities on an entirely different level from those of countries such as Venezuela.”
Mr Kim in December criticised Seoul’s push to develop its own nuclear-powered submarines with the US, calling it a “threat” that “must be countered”.
During his first term, US President Donald Trump met Mr Kim three times in an effort to reach a denuclearisation deal.
But since a summit in Hanoi fell through over differences about what Pyongyang would get in return for giving up its nuclear weapons, no progress has been made between the two countries.
Mr Trump had expressed hopes of meeting Mr Kim ahead of a regional summit in South Korea in October 2025, but these were unanswered by the North Korean leader. AFP
